ENU Mutagenesis Program: induction of new mutations affecting mouse central nervous system

• Grant number: 07/01177-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2007
• End date: December 31, 2009
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Marimélia Aparecida Porcionatto
• Grantee: Marimélia Aparecida Porcionatto
• Host Institution: Centro de Desenvolvimento de Modelos Experimentais para Medicina e Biologia (CEDEME). Pró-Reitoria de Graduação e Pesquisa. Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Mutant and genetically modified mice are largely used as experimental models for several human diseases, such as cancer, degenerative disorders, diabetes, and hypertension, among others. Besides the use of mice in the study of different aspects of the diseases, mutant and genetically modified mice are broadly used in the studies of normal physiological processes, embryonic and post-natal development, as well as in behavioral studies. The animal facility CEDEME (Center for the Development of Experimental Models for Medicine and Biology) produces and maintains several rat and mice lineages, among them several knockout and mutant mice, as well as other experimental animals. In order to increase the number of potential candidate lineages for human diseases, we propose to initiate a mutagenesis project similar to other projects developed around the world, using ENU (ethyl-nitroso-urea), aiming to select mutant mice based on their phenotype, and to start the search for the mutated genes by genetic mapping. This proposal aims to select animals with mutant phenotypes related to the development of the nervous system. The phenotypical selection will be done based on neurological and behavioral tests. With the development of this project we aim to increase the number of lineages of model mice that will be used by the investigators from UNIFESP and also from other institutions. (AU)